All posts tagged Fund-Raising

After ending his campaign and endorsing Mitt Romney late this summer, the former Minnesota governor received donations from his former rival’s supporters to help pay off his debt, according to the Pawlenty campaign’s latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Mr. Romney and his family members donated a combined $35,000 to Mr. Pawlenty to help him pay debts. At least another $10,000 came from people associated with Bain & Co. and Bain Capital, the private equity firm Mr. Romney helped start. There were also checks from executives of Marriott Hotels, where Mr. Romney used to be a board member, and even staffers on Mr. Romney’s campaign.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry‘s famous “oops” moment did more than just kill his public support, it shut off the fund-raising faucet, according to the campaign’s latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.

European Pressphoto Agency

Rick Perry, with his wife, Anita, and his son Griffin, announces his withdrawal from the Republican presidential race at a press conference in North Charleston, S.C., Jan. 19, 2012. (EPA/Erik S. Lesser)

Mr. Perry raised just $2.9 million in the fourth quarter, which ended with 2011, much less than the $17 million he raised in the first six weeks of his campaign early this fall.

What’s more, nearly 60% of last quarter’s funds were from donations dated on or before Nov. 9, 2011, the day of the debate gaffe, according to a Washington Wire analysis of the filings. Mr. Perry, who had been leading in the polls shortly after he joined the race, raised less than $900,000 after the incident.

Mr. Perry’s supporters had never been shy about the challenges he faced after a rough few months of campaigning. Still, the numbers provide a vivid illustration of his campaign’s decline. The campaign spent $14 million, including $5.7 million on media, as it sought to revive Mr. Perry’s chances.

It also appears that there were limits to the well of Texas donors the campaign tapped for early seed money. Although Lone Star State residents accounted for about 45% of Mr. Perry’s fourth-quarter haul, that only amounted to $1.3 million. Read More »

Rick Santorum appealed to supporters to keep his bid for the Republican presidential nomination going, asking for donations as he turns his attention to races in Nevada, Colorado, and other states where he hopes his conservative message draws voters.

“Campaigns cost a lot of money, and it’s only with your support that we will be able to build on this continued momentum,” Mr. Santorum said in an email appeal Tuesday.

The Santorum campaign has been touting a jump in donations since his debate performance five days ago as evidence that voters are still enthusiastic about his candidacy. Mr. Santorum is trailing Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in Florida, where he didn’t buy television ads and which he left early to turn his attention to other states.

Mr. Santorum also was temporarily off the campaign trail after his three-year-old daughter, Isabella, was hospitalized with pneumonia. The child, called Bella, has a genetic disorder known as Trisomy 18.

Mr. Santorum said that he is back “in full campaign mode.” He said his campaign has bought television air time in Nevada and Colorado, and urged voters to donate by Tuesday’s end so his monthly fundraising totals would demonstrate strong grassroots support.

Speaking about Bella, Mr. Santorum said Tuesday that “doctors are cautiously optimistic that she will be home in a few days.” His daughter Elizabeth filled in for him in Florida on the campaign trail, and “from what I understand, she gave her dad a run for his money.” Read More »

Our Destiny, the Super PAC that supported former Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr., raised only about $2.7 million in 2011, and 70% of the money came from his billionaire father, according to federal election documents released Tuesday.

Jon Huntsman waves and leaves the stage after he announced that he is ending his run for the Republican presidential nomination at the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Convention Center on Jan. 16, 2012 (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Jon Huntsman Sr., who made his fortune in the chemical and manufacturing industry gave $1.9 million to the political action committee, dwarfing contributions from other donors, the documents filed with the Federal Election Commission show. Super PACs are not allowed under federal law to coordinate with candidates or their campaigns.

Donors included Peter Arnott, chairman of Research Affiliates LLC, who gave $250,000; members of the Walton family that started Wal-Mart, who donated $150,000; and C. Boyden Gray, who was legal counsel to Vice President George H.W. Bush, who donated $50,000.

More than $2 million Our Destiny’s funds went to media buys for New Hampshire primary campaign, including a barrage of ads attacking the eventual winner Mitt Romney. There was $126,000 cash on hand at the end of 2011.

Mr. Huntsman had said the Jan. 10 New Hampshire primary was crucial to his campaign, but he came in third and dropped out shortly afterwards. He has endorsed Mr. Romney. Read More »

The 2012 presidential election is likely to be about the widening gap between the wealthy and regular Americans.

By one new measure, the 1% continues to thrive.

A study by the Sunlight Foundation shows that campaign contributions from individuals who work in the financial services sector have increased 700% since 1990. In 2010, the finance, insurance and real estate industries gave a combined $178 million. In 1990, those industries donated just $15 million.

There were 5,500 separate donors in the financial services sector who donated $10,000 or more in the 2010 election cycle. Read More »

While the Obama campaign has criticizedMitt Romney as “a corporate raider” for his work at Bain Capital, that hasn’t stopped some employees from giving money to President Barack Obama.

For the first nine months of 2011, Bain Capital employees gave $27,500 to Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign while giving a lot more — $74,500 – to Mr. Romney, a cofounder of Bain Capital, a private equity firm.

But Mr. Romney is the hands-down winner when it comes to donations to Super PACs, the outside political action committees that support candidates. The pro-Romney “Restore Our Future” Super PAC received $1.25 million from Bain Capital employees, while the pro-Obama Super PAC “Priorities USA,” received not a penny, according to campaign finance records from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics… Read More »

Amid the race to South Carolina’s Jan. 21 primary, several Republican candidates are planning quick pit stops to refuel their campaign accounts.

Newt Gingrich is leaving South Carolina this afternoon for a 24-hour fund-raising swing through Florida. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is heading to Manhattan to pick up some cash. And Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, plans to raise money in Florida while he campaigns there.

The fund-raising events come as President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign announced that he raised more than $68 million in the last quarter of 2011. That total is likely to surpass the total amount of money raised my all of the Republican candidates combined for the three-month period that ended Dec. 31.

Mr. Romney said his campaign raised $24 million in the fourth quarter, a total that could double his closest Republican rival. Total fund-raising figures for all the Republican candidates must be made public in the next few weeks. Read More »

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $68 million in the last quarter of 2011, bringing their total for the year to more than $220 million.

The news comes a day after aides to Mitt Romney, Mr. Obama’s most likely Republican challenger, said the Romney campaign raised $24 million in the October-to-December quarter, for a total of $56 million during the primary season.

The TV ad wars have begun in South Carolina and Florida. As the Republican nominating contest moves into the next two states to hold primaries, candidates need more money for TV advertising to reach voters. A big chunk of those funds are coming from so-called super PACs, which support campaigns but operate independently.

Meet the three billionaires who could drag out the GOP presidential primary, bloody up front-runner Mitt Romney and weaken the odds of defeating President Barack Obama: Sheldon Adelson, Foster Friess and Jon Huntsman, Sr.

The three men are contributing millions of dollars to a trio of outside groups flooding the airwaves in early voting states with brutal ads attacking Romney and ads backing the candidates they would prefer to win the Republican nomination…

Operatives say that without the super PAC air cover funded by these deep-pocketed political patrons and their associates, their favored candidates would have a tough time keeping their bare-bones campaigns going as long as they have — let alone beyond the next couple of contests in South Carolina and Florida… Read More »

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.